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Well Here it is, Ladies and Gentlemen: The Best Chevy Citation on Earth

We found it. By definition there had to be one, we just weren’t sure we’d see it, know of it, or even notice it if it drove by. But here it is.

We were recently in Utah to take in the sights and sounds of the Bonneville World of Speed. While there, we met some interesting people and what is without doubt the best Chevrolet Citation in the country.

While it was waiting in line we asked its owner, Tony Sobrera, about it. This is what he said.

GMI: Why?

Tony: Just because it fit into the classic production, they need to be 1981 or earlier with a stock body, with a stock motor—not stock, but the same engine family, the same displacement. It has to run carbureted. It has to run however it came stock. So this is a naturally aspirated, 2.1-liter engine.

GMI: But… why a Citation?

Tony: I’m not a fan of Citations. It just fit in that class. I’m shooting for 140 mph, hopefully. It’s got a 2.1-liter V6 chevy, but it’s the Block out of a 2000 car. I built a big manifold. It’s running a Holley carb. Headers I found out of a Pontiac. Everything is cobbled together and then I made the manifold. These are fuel injected heads, so I just made the manifold by hand, because no one else did. In my class I have to put a carburetor on it, because it came with a carb in 1981. I can’t turbo it, I can’t fuel inject it, because it didn’t come that way.

GMI: How many times have you run it?

Tony: This is the second year, third event. I came to Speed Week [earlier in the summer] and I ran 138 mph. I set a record, then a guy bumped it back up by 8 tenths, so Ive got to go another mile an hour faster.

GMI: Ever come here pre-Citation?

Tony: This is the first car on the flats. I’ve been coming with some guys from Montana, they run the salt cat, the Jaguar, I’ve been coming with those guys for 8 years. So eventually I had to do it myself, except for on a smaller budget.

And there you have it. The best Citation in the world exists because it fits in a class and also is cheap.

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